Latest ipad blogs

I just learned of (and backed) a Kickstarter campaign to learn Swift and iOS 8 programming. It's being run by a friend and colleague of mine, named Paul Solt. He's an award-winning app developer and a great instructor. I've had the opportunity to attend live training from him, and he's offered video training before, also via Kickstarter, with great success.

Game Centered features roundups and in-depth reviews of the best in iOS games and related gaming news. This week's Game Centered takes a look at a new company in the video game industry, one with truly great potential. Skillz brings the first, for-profit gaming arena to the mobile platform. With video gaming (otherwise known as eSports) bringing in massive international audiences, and equally large profits, the competition to be a top gamer is fierce, and with millions of dollars in prizes and sponsorships on the line, eSports have become a bonafide professional-level sport.

Apple is a big company, and it doesn't make haphazard decisions. It’s also fair to say that given its stature as one of the world’s top companies and leading brands, it recognizes that it wields a great deal of influence culturally, socially, and politically. So for the maker of the iPhone and iPad to put so much emphasis on matters such as employee diversity, environmentally sustainable business practices, and human rights and civil liberties, is no small matter. As Tim Cook recently said, "Inclusion and diversity have been a focus for me throughout my time at Apple, and they’re among my top priorities as CEO.”

This is the official announcement of the iPhone Life Biweekly Giveaway! Be sure to enter the giveaway at iPhoneLife.com/giveaways to win prizes, which we'll announce August 25th! We are raffling off tons of great accessories for FREE.

On Wednesday, AT&T stores began a limited-time offer of a $200 discount on iPads if you buy an iPhone 5s or 5c on their installment plan and sign up for a two-year data contract for the iPad. Of course, you'll want to take into account that the iPhone 6 is expected to be announced next month. If you really want an iPad and will be happy with a current iPhone, then it seems like a good deal. AT&T is likely offering this deal to clear out inventory and to increase the number of iPad users subscribing to their data services. Note that this only applies to a purchase of a cellular data iPad, which costs an additional $130 over the WiFi model.

It's no secret (except to this guy) that the next iPhone will be built in China, but for years this has meant Foxconn, the mammoth independent manufacturing firm that has been plagued by reports of poor working conditions. Recently, Apple has decreased their dependence on Foxconn and farmed out more manufacturing work to Pegatron, a competitor to Foxconn.

Apple didn't introduce an iWatch or fitness band at their Worldwide Developers Conference, but they introduced technology to make it easier for others to do so. HealthKit is a framework for developers and gadget makers that can help them integrate fitness and wearable gear with iOS. And Apple isn't taking a backseat to see what happens. They are actively recruiting hospitals and healthcare firms to make the next generation of health products.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Apple's suppliers have now begun manufacturing the next iPad Air and iPad mini. Citing anonymous sources "with knowledge of the matter," the report says that the iPad Air could be announced as early as September, while the mini is expected to be available by the end of the year. In addition, Bloomberg says the new iPads will have an anti-reflection coating on the screen to make it easier to see in bright light.

I use Wikipedia to gain background knowledge on any number of technical concepts, and because of the reputation of possible inaccuracies (due to it's open system of content contribution), I always cross-check the source material with other leading technical sources. In every case, I have found it to be quite accurate. So, I am pretty stoked to be able to get quick and up-to-date access to this oracle of information on my iPad or iPhone using the newly released and official Wikipedia Mobile app! Read on for our full review of the newly minted mobile encyclopedia.

Thanks to everyone who entered the August 11th iPhone Life Biweekly Giveaway! Every other week we give away three amazing prizes, so if you didn't win this time, make sure you enter the August 25th giveaway and tell your friends to enter too!

What's bigger than an iPhone, smaller than a MacBook, and the most anticipated Apple product since the original iPhone? On January 27, at a special invitation only event at the San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Steve Jobs announced Apple's new "magical, revolutionary product" -- the iPad. Meant to fill the gap between the laptop and phone, Jobs said it was "way better" than either. Let's take a look at it.

Thin, lightweight, and powerful

The iPad shares many hardware features with the iPhone, including an accelerometer, an orientation sensor to switch from portrait to landscape mode, solid-state memory, and the same 30-pin doc connector. Connectivity is also virtually the same, with wireless 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR included on all models.

iPad runs iPhone apps!

The iPad will run a version of iPhone OS, and the new device can run virtually any app developed for the iPhone or iPod touch. Aps developed for the iPhone can run on the iPad in native resolution but is large enough to touch type on.

The larger screen not only makes familiar iPhone apps like Calendar, Mail, and Safari look stunning, it also provides screen real estate for more complex elements in the UI. For example, Calendar display a split-sreen view that describes the day's appointments on the left and shows you a color map of used time slots on the right. The split-screen view in Contacts displays you contacts list on the left and the full information for the contact you've selected on the right.

An ebook reader and more

Although not build into the iPad, Apple will offer a free app called iBooks, which will allow you to download and read books from it's new virtual bookstore. The new iBooks store will be accessed from and as easy to use as iTunes.

The ultimate media device?

The iPad is not the world's first tablet PC or the first eBook reader. Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer, and others sell Windows-based tablets, and Amazon has had considerable success with it's Kindle. But Apple thinks the iPad will reinvent the category by offering a vastly superior multi-touch interface an easy access to a wide-variety of apps and media via iTunes. Aple hopes to make the iPad the ultimate media device by leveraging it's existing assets which include over 100 million paying iTunes customers, established relationships with music and video content providers, and over 100,000 iPhone OS app developers.